Elaine Cunningham grew up in New York state and New England. She earned a degree in music, taught Music and History for several years, and then went back to grad school. Her interests include Celtic and Renaissance music, folklore and mythology, costuming, living history, and travel. Trained primarily as a singer, she has taken up Irish fiddle and harp. Cunningham started writing when her oldest son was a baby. She has written a number of novels set in the Forgotten Realms. Her first book was titled Elfshadow: "Even though its my first book and admittedly has some rough spots, I think that Elfshadow remains my favorite." Cunningham grew fond of the book's stars, Arilyn Moonblade, a half-elf with blood ties to the royal family, and a bard named Danilo Thann. "I’ve written two sequels and several short stories... I really enjoy time spent with them." Her 1998 book Evermeet: Island of Elves chronicles the whole history of Evermeet and features the return of Arilyn and Danilo: "Evermeet still terrifies me, but I think it turned out to be a good story. It adds a bit more color and dimension to Toril's elves and perhaps suggests a few new ways to think about them." Amongst Cunningham's most popular characters are the half-elf Arilyn Moonblade, the bard Danilo Thann, the quirky drow wizard Liriel Baenre, her companion the Rashemi berserker Fyodor, and Elaith "The Serpent" Craulnober. Cunningham is also the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Journey, book 10 from the Star WarsNew Jedi Order saga. Cunningham lives in New England with her husband and their two sons.
Quotes
: Ravens and crows will also interact with humans. Occasionally they'll imitate human behavior Sometimes they're willing to cut a deal. I've got one going with the local "raven mafia." They always gather on trash pickup day, but in exchange for some "protection bread," they'll leave my trash alone and even chase other birds away from it.
: I find this sort of thing unnecessary and irrelevant. It's like that scene from "Wizard of Oz," when the wizard admonishes Dorothy and company, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" It's the illusion—in this case, the story—that matters. What difference does it make if an author is male or female, young or old, or for that matter, a Caucasian human or a sentient dolphin?
